A French fancy that can ferry the family!
Citroen C5 Aircross From around €26,495
As it begins its centenary year celebrations, Citroen is launching its new flagship C5 Aircross sports utility vehicle. And I’ve been among the first to drive the smooth French fiveseater family runaround.
The new C5 Aircross is the latest model in a refreshed range that aims to put the stress on comfort and design, and impart a feelgood factor to driver and occupants.
So don’t expect racetrack performance.
But what you do get is relaxed long-legged driving that is both intuitive and calming – just what you want if you are ferrying a family around.
Comfort is at the heart of the new C5 Aircross – from the extra padded seats to the advanced suspension designed to cushion occupants from the harshness of potholes and speed-bumps.
There are 19 separate driverassist and braking technologies, including active lane departure warning and blind-spot monitoring. Also available is grip control with hill-descent assist if you go offroad.
Stop-Start technology helps save fuel and emissions.
There are three trim levels, starting with the Feel, the expected best-seller Flair, and Flair Plus.
These integrate with five engine and gearbox combinations from two petrol and two diesel models.
The PureTech petrol 130 is paired with a six-speed manual box, while the 180 version is linked to an eightspeed automatic gearbox.
The diesel Blue HDi 130 is matched with both manual and 8speed automatic gearboxes, while the BlueHDi 180 diesel has just the automatic version.
A plug-in electric hybrid version of the C5 Aircross is to follow early next year.
I had a relaxing drive in a C5 Aircross Flair-Plus in Tijuca Blue with a willing BlueHDi 130 turbocharged 1.5-litre diesel engine linked to a six-speed manual gearbox.
Acceleration from rest to 100kph is 10.4 seconds with a top speed of 188mph and CO2 emissions of 110g/km.
The firm which started life in 1919 aims to have an electrified option for every model in the range by 2025.
A replacement for the C4 Cactus is expected to be the first allelectric Citroen.
COMFORT IS AT THE HEART OF THE NEW AIRCROSS